A career night from Erik Reynolds II powers St. Joe’s past George Washington, 87-76

NEW YORK — St. Joseph’s clawed back from a double-digit first-half deficit to top George Washington, 87-76, in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Wednesday at the Barclays Center.

Sophomore guard Erik Reynolds III showed why he’s the second-leading scorer in the conference, pacing the Hawks with a career-high 34 points, adding six rebounds and four assists. Senior guard Cameron Brown had 18 points and sophomore guard Lynn Greer III finished with 14.

“To be honest, I didn’t even know I was about to get my career high until [Brown] said something to me on the free-throw line,” Reynolds said. “But it feels good. I give a lot of credit to my teammates, though. They believe in me no matter how many shots I’ve missed.”

The Hawks advance to face No. 2 seed Dayton on Thursday afternoon (5 p.m., USA Network). The Flyers clinched a bye to the quarterfinals. The Flyers got the better of the Hawks, winning 76-56 in the teams’ lone meeting on Jan 4.

The Hawks (16-16) fell behind the Colonials (16-16) early, as George Washington bolted to a 9-0 lead. St. Joseph’s missed its first seven three-point attempts before freshman forward Rasheer Fleming finally connected midway through the first half.

That was the spark the Hawks needed, sending them on an 11-0 run that brought St. Joseph’s within two at 23-21. Helped along by four first-half steals, the Hawks ultimately regained the lead at 25-24 on a Greer jumper with 6 minutes, 49 seconds left in the first half.

“This is the trust of your teammates. We did work on this in practice,” Fleming said. “So we’re just going to continue to do what we do.”

While the teams exchanged leads multiple times in the second half, St. Joseph’s pulled away in the final minute, with two Reynolds free throws icing the win.

Including his key first-half three-pointer, Fleming chipped in 12 points and eight boards.

The Flyers are led by sophomore forward DaRon Holmes II, averaging 18 points per game, good for fourth in the conference. At 6-foot-10, Holmes II is the tallest player on the Flyers’ roster, and he’s projected to be a second-round pick in the 2023 NBA draft. Dayton’s second-leading scorer is junior forward Toumani Camara, who averages 13.6 points and 8.5 boards.

The Flyers will reportedly be without Mike Sharavjamts on Thursday, as the 6-foot-8 freshman sustained an injury in Dayton’s season-ending loss to Saint Louis. Sharavjamts had six points, two blocks, and four assists against the Hawks in their regular-season meeting.

“What I think of Dayton, from player one to the last guy that comes off the bench, I feel like they’re the deepest, most talented team in our conference,” Saint Joseph’s head coach Billy Lange said. “They have a unique offense. It’s systematic.”

The Hawks’ regular-season meeting with Dayton ended in a 20-point loss for Saint Joseph’s. Despite the lopsided final, St. Joseph’s kept it close in the first half, with the lead changing five times.

The Hawks led Dayton by as much as six in the first half, but a shaky start out of the break kept the Flyers comfortably ahead in the second. Dayton shot 57.1% from the field, including 50% from long-range.

“I feel like we’re a whole different team from [the last game against Dayton],” Brown said. “We play more defense now. We play more united as a team. And we just learn from ourselves. So we’ll be ready for it.”

Holmes scored 20 points, and redshirt sophomore R.J. Blakney had a season-high 19.

Four Hawks scored in the double figures against Dayton, led by Cameron Brown with 13 points.

“I say we take a lot more pride in what we do now,” Reynolds said. “So it’s gonna be a different St. Joe’s team.”

Friday is a practice/press conference day, with no tournament games being played. The winner of Thursday’s game will meet either Duquesne, La Salle, or Fordham in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network).